


HOTEL OF SHADOW You Can't Help Me

by SkipBack



Series: Hotel of Shadow [7]
Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: basically oof
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:20:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22173226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkipBack/pseuds/SkipBack
Summary: After waiting for a long stretch of time, Husk finally heads down to the Radio Tower. But what lies inside of the Tower just may shock him...This part takes place afterHallucinations of Darkness,a part of the Hotel of Shadow AU.
Series: Hotel of Shadow [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1484603
Comments: 26
Kudos: 55





	HOTEL OF SHADOW You Can't Help Me

Husk was usually not one for breaking and entering, much less into the Radio Tower. 

But that was what he had just done. 

The Tower loomed into the red sky, ominous and dangerous and dark. It was taller than the clock towers in each section of Pentagram City. Though terrifying as it may be, most sinners believed it was like a simple radio tower and nothing more. Not that anyone else was breaking in to find out if it truly was. 

But Husk had been inside of the Tower a few times before, so he knew what it was really like... and how to get in without using the front door (though he wasn't sharing that kind of information). 

In layman's terms... the Radio Tower was bigger on the inside, almost as though it carried its own pocket dimension or... something. 

Normally, a variety of oddities in jars lined the shelves stretching across the walls. In the dark, they would usually carry an eerie glow. 

Husk saw no light from them whatsoever. 

It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the Tower. The jars were all nothing but broken glass on the wooden floor, their contents missing. Husk couldn't see any liquid; he guessed that if there was anything on the floor, it had all dried up at this point. 

It had been five months since Alastor had listened in through the small radio in the hotel's "conference room". After a lengthy conversation with Charlie two days ago, Husk had eventually agreed to go over to the Tower to knock some sense back into the red stag. But now that he was here, Husk couldn't see or hear anything of him. Not his breathing, not the snippets of music and other radio type sounds that played through his golden grin. 

Nothing. 

_Well, fuck._

Something caught Husk's eye, and he turned his head. 

A desk with a large antique radio upon it, broken into two pieces. A small window casted light upon the desk, covering a small section of the room. 

Husk recognized that radio. 

That radio was Alastor's "Master Radio", as the red stag proudly called it. 

Husk crossed over to the desk to get a closer look. The Radio was broken beyond repair, its insides strewn across the surface, mixing with a dark substance he was sure was blood. Husk cautiously leaned down and sniffed at it. 

It was blood, alright. 

Fresh blood mixed with old blood. 

_Alastor's blood._

At that moment, Husk's ears twitched and the fur along his back raised as a low, static filled growl filled the Tower. Husk stood up straight, instinctively spreading his wings as far as he could spread them to make himself appear bigger than he was. He tucked his arms around the bag he was carrying. 

Alastor growling. Never a good sign. 

Heavy steps and labored breathing drew closer. Husk's eyes darted around, trying to see him before he came into view. 

The Radio Demon lumbered into the light, a hungry grin plastered on his long muzzle. His antlers were long and twisted, his claws unbelievably long and sharp. Husk could see his ribs, large and big enough to trap a whole demon inside of his chest. He was at least six or seven feet taller than he usually was; the Tower's ceiling was built for his usual height, but now he was hunched over to fit. 

He'd never seen Alastor in his full wendigo form. He'd seen him partially in this form, even halfway once... but now he was clearly in the full form. 

Alastor's eyes narrowed, and he gave a guttral growl as his ears flattened against his head, wrinkling his snout. Blood began to steadily drip from his mouth. 

The wendigo dropped to all fours, lurching forward. He stalked over to Husk, putting his face up to his, noses almost touching. Husk didn't think his face could get any thinner, but he could see the red wendigo's sharp cheekbones lining the sides of his huge head, his glowing eyes sunken into his skull. Husk glared back, showing him that he still wasn't afraid of him... no matter what form he was in. 

He stared at Husk for a long time before he curiously reached out to bop Husk's nose with a long claw. The wendigo jumped back with an alarmed expression on his face, before turning his attention to the bag in the feline's arms. He moved his head toward it, smelling it. The beast's nose twitched violently, licking his lips with a long, pointed gray tongue. 

He'd suspected this. Husk took the strap off his shoulder, and he plopped the bag on the floor. Alastor snatched it up immediately, backing away to rip into it. 

There were ten pounds of raw deer meat in the bag overall, but the Radio Demon devoured them all within minutes. Alastor stuck his nose into the bag, searching for more. When he came up empty handed, the wendigo ate the bag before Husk could stop him. After he devoured it, the beastly stag looked at Husk expectantly. 

"I don't have anything else," Husk said. "You ate everything I brought." The wendigo gave a low whine, laying his large head on his talons (for a guy who hates dogs, Alastor sure acted a lot like one in his wendigo form and clearly wouldn't enjoy the comparison). "Not my fault you ate it all so fast. Did you even taste anything?" 

Alastor made a small noise of annoyance. The wendigo's breaths rattled the long black and red spines growing out of his back. Husk padded over to him. The Radio Demon's spines raised as he drew closer, digging his claws into the wooden floor, snarling angrily before giving up on trying to scare the winged feline. Alastor deflated as Husk sat down, his spines laying flat on his back. 

The two demons sat like that in silence before Husk eventually broke it. "So... I see you've broken the Master Radio," he said. 

Alastor snapped his jaws at him, bristling and snarling. He then winced and deflated once more, his eyes empty and hollow. It was a look Husk had never seen on his face before, wendigo or not. But Husk recognized the look anyhow, having seen it so many times when he was alive. 

It was a look of guilt. 

_Well... that's new. The "almighty" Radio Demon can feel guilty. Huh._

"Alright," Husk sighed, "what the Hell's going on with you?" The other demon began to shrink and his spines retracted, his body returning to its usual form with a few loud cracking sounds. The stag's face was thinner than he realized, and it looked like he was having trouble keeping his smile in place. Holy fuck, was it just Husk or had Alastor always been this... _skeletal_? 

The red stag made a few soft sounds of discomfort as he pulled himself into a sitting position as though every movement he made caused him great pain. His clothes were surprisingly baggy on him now; they were torn before, yes, but it seemed there were more rips and tears in the fabric. He was slouching, something that was unusual for Alastor to do. The look on his face was so haunted... dark and empty. 

Who knew what Alastor was doing to himself in the time he'd locked himself up in the Tower? And who could tell how deep the trauma ran? 

"So?" Husk said after Alastor composed himself. 

Alastor heavily sighed, his ears drooping. "I wish I knew," he said apologetically, his voice soft and quiet. The red stag chuckled, tracing a claw along one of his cheekbones. "Though... I suspect I may have overdone the wendigo thing." 

"A word to the wise, next time don't fucking do that," Husk said. 

The stag gave him a small, tired smile before he laid back down on his side. "I'll take that into consideration," he said. 

"...you okay there, bucko?" Husk asked. He'd never used that word before in either of his lives, and he was planning on never using it again. 

"I'm fine..." Alastor said. "I'm just... laying down, is all." 

But he wasn't just laying down. Before Husk knew it, he was out like a light. 

... 

_I really ought to stop falling asleep like this._

Alastor pushed his aching body off the floor, his bones cracking as he stretched. Well, he'd really ruined himself this time. Five months was the longest he'd gone without changing back, and he was starting to really feel it. 

Husk was gone... or he had never been there in the first place, and his mind was just torturing him again. But he had felt him, and had sensed his soul. Alastor could tell the difference from his hallucinations and who was real at this point, but he wasn't sure anymore. Maybe they were just starting to become more realistic. 

He noticed a note on the desk out of the corner of his eye. Alastor grunted as he slowly made his way over to it, his bones uncomfortably scraping against each other. He lifted the pale pink paper to the light, recognizing Husk's jagged handwriting. 

_Decided to leave, but I still got more words for you._

_Charlie wants me to let you know that the Hotel's door is always open for you, should you decide to come back. Honestly, feel lucky she still trusts you. A forgiving and trusting demon like her is a rarity... much less one who trusts you, of all people in this shithole._

_Again, I still don't give a shit if you come back or not. But it's the least you could do for Charlie._

_Husk ♠_

... 

_END OF PART SEVEN_

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, this has to be the lightest HoS story so far. I think, I suck with light stories when it comes to this AU.
> 
> Speaking of which, it now has a Discord server I'm still tinkering with. Speaking of which, it now has a Discord server I'm still tinkering with. I have no idea how to put out the invite link so. Oof, I'll figure it out later-
> 
> EDIT: i got a link out now, but you may have to fill it into a search bar if you can't just click or tap on it because i still suck with links on archive :DDD
> 
> https://discord.gg/hPgZ9cA <\- right here is the Hotel of Shadow Discord server link.


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